Happy International Day of the Mountain, my friends! This day is made for all of us who are #EnthusiasticAboutHiking. To celebrate, let’s take a look at seven of my favorite photos at one of my favorite parks in Arizona: Estrella Mountain Regional Park!
A couple of weeks ago, my friends from Denver visited and of course we went to Arizona’s #1 tourist destination: The Grand Canyon! It was such a great trip and the views were incredible (check out my Instagram story here), but it’s a little far away. I always underestimate how long the drive will be and this time was no different. Because we got back to Phoenix later than expected, I had to change our original dinner location and find a place that was open late during the week! There are plenty of places open late during the week and here are a couple of my faves. Let me know if I missed your fave spot!
The restaurants below are listed in order of which closes earliest.
It is officially Winter my friends! I am a Summer baby so obviously Summer is my favorite season but Winter means Christmas and who doesn’t love Christmas? I’ve spent most of my Winters in Arizona with my family but I have had the opportunity to spend a Winter in chilly Europe and warm Puerto Rico. One of my favorite parts about spending Winter in Europe was how festive everyone gets during the holidays. And with Christmas Markets being a huge thing, do you blame them?
A couple of months ago, I read a Buzzfeed article on Facebook where a ton of runners shared why they started running.
It was a very inspiring piece (check it out here) because the reasons were all so different, and so were the runners. After reading that piece, I went for a run (of course) to reflect on why I started running. The reason I started running is very simple: I wanted to run a marathon because I had heard of people running 26.2 miles and could not believe that this was possible.
I wanted to prove to myself that anything I set my mind to, I could accomplish. And what started off as a huge goal in my mind, changed my entire life.
When I first started running, it was just to reach that goal of crossing a full marathon off my bucket list, but as I started running and learning about true discipline (among other lessons), I began to really enjoy running. I enjoyed that it calmed me down when I was nervous, I enjoyed that it de-stressed me when work or life was overwhelming. I enjoyed slowing down my mind and focusing on just one thing: putting one foot in front of the other, versus thinking of the million things I had to do the next day. I enjoyed seeing my body change as I ran, getting stronger and faster.
It’s a simple (and very ambitious) reason to start running but as I continued with my running journey, I realize that I may just have one reason why I started running, but I have so many more reasons why I still run today.
Running is a huge part of my life and if you’ve been following along, I’m sure you already know this. So today, I’ve decided to share a few of the most important reasons why I still run in the hopes that you’ll get to know me at a deeper level, but also to maybe inspire you to lace up your own running shoes and join me on this #EnthusiasticAboutRunning journey.
I’ve spoken often of how I love when the Universe brings together things that I love in the best way. Like when I ran the ‘Run The Runway 10K‘ which combined my love of airplanes and running. Or every time I try a new restaurant from a place I recently visited. Or this time, when I read a book about traveling that makes me feel like I am traveling, even if I am just at the nail salon, at my house, in my car, or at dinner reading while waiting for a friend.
Today, we are discussing a book that speaks about one of my favorite loves: travel.
That book is “A World Worth Seeing” by Brian Nelson, a world traveler. In A World Worth Seeing, Brian Nelson takes readers through North and South America, Australia and the Pacific Islands, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. It’s a shorter book (only about 90 pages) and it’s a super quick read.
This week, I will be in Dallas, Texas exploring so to get ready, I’ve been reminiscing on the last time I was in Texas: Houston! I visited Houston in May which meant that the humidity was very rough but the city itself was great!
The first stop on the Houston bucket list was Smither Park and I’m here to tell you that you need to add this spot to your itinerary!
Smither Park is an area in a neighborhood that is filled with sculptures, mosaics and artistic items. It’s super cool to admire the art but it’s also great for Instagram photo-ops 
and apparently on Saturdays you can watch the artists at work! Check out 8 of my favorite photos to inspire you to visit!
Tucson is a hiker’s paradise, I’ve said it time and time again. Whenever someone asks me what there is to do in Tucson I always say the same three things: eating, hiking, and exploring the beautiful University of Arizona campus! One of my favorite hikes in Tucson is definitely Tanque Verde Falls. It’s a great workout, the views are beautiful, and it’s not overly crowded. Check out 8 of my favorite photos to inspire you to hike Tanque Verde Falls in Tucson!
Ayer fui a ver la nueva película “Ya Veremos”…y me encanto! “Ya Veremos” narra la historia de Santi (Emiliano Aramayo) un niño soñador quien ha tenido que lidiar con la separación de sus padres, Rodrigo (Mauricio Ochmann) y Alejandra (Fernanda Castillo). Para ellos, Santi es la luz de sus ojos, y están obligados a verse de vez en cuando, ya que comparten el tiempo de su hijo. Un día reciben la noticia de que Santi debe someterse a una cirugía la cual puede cambiarle la vida por completo. Así que éste hace una lista de deseos (un bucket list) para cumplirlos junto con sus dos padres, antes de la operación. Es así, que Rodrigo y Alejandra se verán forzados a aprender a convivir de nuevo, embarcandose (sin sospecharlo) en un viaje lleno de aventuras, que al final, hará que sea muy difícil separarse de nuevo y verán el panorama de una manera diferente.
Tuve la oportunidad de entrevistar a Mauricio Ochmann y a Fernanda Castillo y platicamos de todo incluyendo bucket lists, sus momentos favoritos de la película, y hasta de cuanto se odian!
Yesterday, I saw the new movie “Ya Veremos”…and I loved it! “Ya Veremos” is a Spanish film (with English subtitles!) that tells the story of Santi (Emiliano Aramayo) a boy who has had to deal with the divorce of his parents, Rodrigo (Mauricio Ochmann) and Alejandra (Fernanda Castillo). For them, Santi is the light of their life and they are forced to see each other once in a while due to shared custody. One day, they receive the news that Santi must undergo a surgery that could change his entire life. Which is why Santi decides to write up a wish list (kind of like a bucket list) and he gets his parents involved before he has to get the surgery done. Rodrigo and Alejandra are forced to learn how to spend time together, going on the adventure of a life time that will show how difficult it is to be apart and will change their out look on life.
I had the opportunity to interview Mauricio Ochmann and Fernanda Castillo and we chatted about many things including bucket lists, their favorite movie moments and I even got them to dish to me about how much they hate each other!
Three years ago, on this very day, I decided to take the plunge and start Enthusiastic About Life. We are three years old y’all, officially toddlers! So much has happened since then, but the best part about being on this blogging journey has definitely been all of the incredible people I’ve met. Everything that I do in my life, whether it is volunteering, mentoring, working, blogging…all have one thing in common: community. Everywhere I go, I choose to surround myself with amazing people that make all of the time and effort completely worth it.
The first year of the blog, I had a very dramatic photoshoot with champagne (check it out here!), the second year I took a moment to reflect on my own, and this year I’ve decided to publicly share my reasons for starting this blog and to also highlight my blogger friends. These blogger friends are the ones who I turn to whenever I feel down, whenever I feel excited, or whenever I feel any sort of way in between.
Thank you ladies for being on this journey with me!